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Preparing Your Kids for the Teen Years video series

Sweaty palms. Nervous thoughts. Stammering words. As parents, many of us feel uneasy about talking to our kids about their changing bodies, about sex, and how it’s all a part of growing up. But it doesn’t have to be a struggle! This five-part video series Preparing Your Kids for the Teen Years will assist you as you prepare to talk to your preteen about what the Creator intended for sexuality and why.

Episode 1: Why Is It So Hard to Talk About Puberty With Our Kids?

In video one, host Jim Daly talks with family counselling expert Danny Huerta and author Jessie Minassian about how to paint sexuality as a beautiful part of God’s plan, which overshadows the counterfeit messages the culture portrays.

Quote for reflection:

“[Talking about sex] is going to be awkward. . . . So let’s just be okay with that but still dive into the deep end. . . . When we paint a good and beautiful picture of how God designed our bodies to work and for men and women to come together, it’s going to overshadow what they’re seeing in the media and that counterfeit message that they’re being fed.”

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Episode 2: How Early Should We Start?

In video two, Danny Huerta and Jessie Minassian recommend that parents start early – when kids are 4 or 5 years old – talking about the preciousness of the body and how God created us in His image. Sexuality encompasses our whole being – who we are – and not just anatomical parts. By age 7, 8 or 9, your kids are ready to learn about who they are in Christ, along with how their bodies will begin changing before long. In those critical preteen years, Mom and Dad must become the go-to people for questions and knowledge.

Quote for reflection:

“[The conversation] begins very early – just about having kids learn about the preciousness of their body, preciousness of their design, their identity in Christ – that’s where it begins. Those are the foundations – how to handle friendships, how to learn patience, self-control – the elements around sexuality. It’s not all about one talk and one conversation around sexuality. Sexuality encompasses our very being, you know, who we are as people.”

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Episode 3: How to Handle Peer Pressure

In video three, Danny Huerta and Jessie Minassian address the moments when parents catch their daughters and sons acting or speaking in ways they haven’t been taught. Fact: Preteens pick up ideas, words and habits from media and other kids. So what now? Be present and ask loving questions. Don’t assume their behaviour is willful. Often there’s something below the surface driving them.

Quote for reflection:

“Our job and our opportunity is to step into those moments with our kids, and to guide them and help them understand where these desires are coming from, but also being able to step in and say, ‘I’m worried about you. You’re making some decisions that are working completely against you and so I’m concerned about where this is taking you. What’s happening?’ . . . However you ask the question, go below the surface instead of getting stuck on the behaviour.”

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Episode 4: How to Take the Fear Out of the Culture’s View of Sex

In video four, hosts Jim Daly and John Fuller discuss with Danny Huerta and Jessie Minassian how to bring humor, affection and truth to important conversations about God’s design for our bodies, our gender and sex.

Quote for reflection:

On the need to be careful about teasing kids about the changes in their body at puberty:

“The relationship needs affection, it needs encouragement. So if dads are balancing it with a relationship where they are building in their sons, they’re noticing the good things about their sons, and also showing them affection, then it’s balanced well with being able to laugh. But if that’s the only comment they make about their son then it’s very damaging. It creates shame. It creates intimidation that I don’t measure up to what my dad wants me to become.”

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Episode 5: How to Use the Launch Into the Teen Years Curriculum

In the fifth and final video of this series, Danny Huerta and Jessie Minassian implore moms and dads to embrace this coming season of adolescence. Set up special moments to talk to your preteens about identity, friendships, emotions, sexuality and more. These are your kids. No one else has the authority to speak into their lives like you do!

Quote for reflection:

“No one else has the authority to speak into your kids’ lives the way that you do on this subject. Because you’ve been raising them from those little things, you get to speak into their lives on this. It’s okay if it feels a little bit awkward. It’s okay if you need a resource to come alongside you and help guide you through those talking points. That’s why we did this [curriculum], so you’ve got . . . something that can take you through those milestones and make sure you’ve covered all the bases – not just the one aspect of physical intimacy, but to make sure that you’re having a holistic and whole-hearted approach to this conversation.”

Get help from some related resources

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